Gujarat CM Urges 100% Voter Turnout in Local Body Elections as 'Sacred Duty'

In a message issued on Saturday, the Chief Minister urged voters across the state to take part enthusiastically in what he termed the "sacred festival of democracy".

He said that voting was not merely a right but also "a sacred duty as a citizen" and emphasised that each vote would contribute to the overall development of villages, talukas, districts and cities.

"Every vote will further accelerate the overall development of the state's villages, talukas, districts and cities," Patel said, calling on voters to visit their polling stations on April 26 and to encourage family members, friends and neighbours to do the same.

Appealing for full participation, he added that citizens should take a pledge for "100 per cent voting" to make the democratic exercise successful.

He also linked participation in the polls to broader development goals, stating: "Voting would contribute to building a developed Gujarat from a developed India."

The appeal comes at the close of campaigning for one of the largest grassroots electoral exercises in the state, with polling set to take place across urban and rural local bodies.

Campaigning concluded on Friday with major political parties holding roadshows and rallies across Gujarat, including high-profile events in Ahmedabad, as parties sought to mobilise voters ahead of polling day.

The elections will cover 15 municipal corporations, 84 municipalities, 34 district panchayats and 260 taluka panchayats, making it a wide-ranging contest across tiers of local governance.

According to the State Election Commission, more than 4.19 crore eligible voters are expected to participate in the polls, which will be conducted at tens of thousands of polling stations using electronic voting machines.

Voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., with counting of votes scheduled for April 28.

Over 10,000 seats are being contested in this election cycle, including positions in newly formed municipal bodies, while the polls are also the first to be held under the revised 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes in local bodies.

Authorities have made extensive security arrangements, deploying more than one lakh personnel across the state to ensure a peaceful voting process, alongside additional measures in sensitive areas.

The outcome of the elections is expected to shape governance at the grassroots level and influence the administrative direction of urban and rural bodies across Gujarat for the coming term.

- IANS